Chapter 16: Speedrunning a City
It was easy to sneak up on Azamar under cover of night. The walls were well-lit and patrolled by slave-soldiers, but their watchful eyes were the only things preventing Nathan and Aarl from walking right up to the walls.
With Nathan’s skills it was child’s play to evade detection. He’d expected Aarl to have problems being stealthy. But the [Relicwielder] demonstrated the other advantages of his class by activating some kind of camouflage in his armor that blurred his outline and helped Aarl blend into the shadows of the night. They reached the cover of a small depression fifty feet from the walls and crouched inside, waiting for their teammates to cause a distraction.
“Is that stealth on the armor new?” Nathan murmured, gesturing in the dark towards Aarl’s armor.
“Well, the armor’s old, and it’s had this talent the whole time,” replied Aarl with a hint of snark. “But my class has helped me learn many features of this armor. It can do many wondrous things.”
At that moment, magic flared from the north as Stella and Khachi crested the nearest hill. They were walking casually down the road from Giantsrest that led to the main gates of Azamar. But what drew the eyes was the shining golden magic that adorned Khachi and the layered panes of force magic spreading out from Stella like wings. A force of hundreds could have walked behind her and been invisible behind the display.
Nathan heard sounds of surprise from the defenders as all eyes turned towards their friends. He and Aarl broke cover, scampering up to the base of the walls. They crouched, ready to go up and over when the mages of Azamar decided to respond to Stella and Khachi’s provocation. Nathan was planning on using [Airwalk] to get atop the wall, and he watched as the metal of Aarl’s armor shifted and climbing spikes popped out of his hands and feet.
They didn’t have to wait long. A minute later there was a faint pop of somebody teleporting atop the wall, and Nathan tensed to jump. Beside him, Aarl started climbing the wall, the spikes providing excellent grip on even the enchanted stone of the wall. A detection spell swept outwards from the man, but Nathan blocked it easily.
Visibility Control 3 achieved!
A magically enhanced voice rang out across the night, angry and just a little despairing. “You cowardly muckgrabbers! The Academy is destroyed and now you come here to remove every speck of magic from this world? Well, show me your might, for I am the only defender of Azamar, but still I raise my fist against you! I know the strength of my hand does not compare to Badud's, but I will not allow you to destroy this city without challenge!”